Soul Sucking

The man's contorted face was off-putting to Stella, but she shrugged off his gruesome face as a physical disability. She settled herself at a nearby table and looked for a waiter to take her order.

Suddenly the room shifted and people began sliding across the restaurant. Stella turned to look at the disfigured man. His hands were curled near his armpits and his spine was twisting in an unnatural fashion. He was making gargling sounds and white beams were shooting from his eyes. Cups and forks began flying toward him and slamming into his shriveling body.

She could feel her soul slipping out of her face and sticking to the man. "This shall be my final act," Stella thought as she leapt into to fray. Her neck snapped and she faded into darkness to the sound of the diners screaming.

Toffees

The black man reached his hand into the blue glass bowl of Werther's Original candies. His fingers clamped around several of the individually wrapped treats.

"You get out of those candies, darkie. They aren't for you!" Stella snapped.

The man dropped the candies back into the bowl and looked at the floor in shame.

!!!

Stella handed out the last exclamation point and began to immediately feel panic. How would anyone else express emotion?

She walked up the hill to jump on the exclamation pillow. Punctuation flowed from the hillside and into the hands of the rejoicing people.

Mall Savior

Stella watched as the pole shot through her abdomen. She closed her eyes and turned her head to avoid the spatter of blood. The warm, wet drops landed on her eyelids and soaked her eyelashes. She looked down at the pole that was sticking through her. Blood poured out the end of the pipe.

Walking and crawling seemed impossible, but Stella knew she had to leave the shopping center. Concentration proved to be a useful tool and she was able to hover over the crowds;her life-source pouring out on the people.

"I am risen. I am risen, indeed, " she called.

Busted

K-borg handed Stella the bottle and told her to finish the drink. The christmas lights strung around the room were too bright and Stella was annoyed at the way they beamed in her eyes as she tilted her head back to finish the whiskey.

A knock on the door.

"What are you doing in here? I'm going to need to see your medical papers?" shouted the RA.

"What are you talking about? Get out of here" Stella hissed.

"It smells like marijuana in here. And you're going to be punished."

"You're an idiot. A) It doesn't smell like marijuana. B) We're only having drinks. C) Get the hell out of my room before I have you fired."

The RA walked over to Stella and K-borg, grabbed each of them face, and peered into their eyes. "You eyes are red. I'm calling the patrol, " he explained as he squeezed each of their cheeks.

The jig was up. "We're done for," Stella whispered. K-borg threw his arms around her and pulled her in close for a kiss. "It's been a good run. A good run" he cooed in her ear.

Stella grabbed the bucket of acid from the desk and poured it over their heads.

Missing the point

"I fear that you may be missing the point of the ketchup bottle..."

Ruined

Nessa opened her purse and retched inside.

"You may have ruined all your things," Stella observed.

Nessa grabbed the bag of emesis and threw it's contents on Stella. "I definitely ruined you," she laughed.

Stella wiped her face and continued to eat her newly soggy chicken nuggets.

Don't Smoke

The bear flashed his teeth and released an enormous growl.

Stella grabbed him by the ears and pulled his face close to her. As their noses touched she thought "I hope the midgets can handle this big guy. I think I'll name him Max."

Max opened his mouth and crunched down on Stella's head.

She gurgled out her last words: I shouldn't have smoked so many cigarettes.

Power Struggle

He laid on the bed with a coy look in his eyes.

She went to him and placed her head on his shoulder and her arm across his chest.

The beast appeared; large and thick.

She grabbed it in an attempt to gain control.

"I had no idea…." she stammered. She longed to be close to the beast; to hold it tightly.

"Can I?" she asked.

He nodded.

Shreds of clothes were thrown to the floor. She climbed on and lost control.

She cherished the loss of power.

The proposal

The chains felt heavy around Stella's neck, but she felt stylish away. She was excited for her new hipsterish glasses to make their world debut.

"Shall we be in love?" she asked the shaded man.

"We are, Stella."

"Then hold my hair. And hold it tight."

The shaded man grabbed a handful of Stella's hair and wrapped it around his hand.

"I really like your glasses, " he said.

Eternity

She brushed her hand against his bristly cheek then wrapped her arm around his.

They walked into the darkness. Smiling.

Bananas

Stella sat patiently on the deck, waiting for her friends to appear. The Captain had already arrived at the family's lake home and wandering in the bowels of the house. "I should go inside and figure out the sleeping arrangements," Stella thought and quietly entered The Cabin.

Big Papa walked slowly down the hallway and said sternly "Stella, you and your friends can stay in the Bunk and Mirrors room, but stay out of the 50's room. That's mine." Stella nodded and took a seat in a plush, blue rocking chair. Alice appeared at the top of the stairs looking quite weighted down by her enormous hiking pack. Why Alice would wear a pointed alpaca hat in the summer, was beyond Stella.

"I'll show you to our room," Stella explained and she walked Alice down to the basement. "It's the Bunk and Mirrors room, but it's not as scary as it sounds." As she pushed open the door a wall of cowboy paraphernalia and rusty mirrors appeared before the girls. The room wasn't scary and Stella was delighted that there were 6 beds in the Bunk and Mirrors room - plenty of room for her to stay with her friends.

The two ladies went off in search of The Captain. As they entered the dark storage space, Stella caught a glance of a large, furry, green humanoid. "That must be The Captain. She's playing a joke," thought Stella. Indeed, the large creature was The Captain in a Philly's Phanatic outfit. Alice was delighted by this discovery and began instantly chatting with The Captain. Stella was glad that her friends were hitting it off so well. It was the perfect opportunity for her to sneak away for a few minutes.

Stella creeped around the basement to the 50's room and to her horror discovered what she suspected to be true all along. Big Papa had been surviving solely on bananas.

Witchery

Stella held Lucy Howel's hand as they trudged down the dirt path. "Lucy, in order to save our family you must sneak into the witch's house and steal the vials," Stella explained to the tiny girl, "I still distract the Gate Keeper and then do your best. We must both be very brave." Lucy nodded in understanding, but she was noticeably shaking and holding back tears.
Stella could see the Gate Keeper growing larger in the distance. She always expected a troll to fulfill that role, but the Gate Keeper was a heavy set woman of normal size. She wasn't particularly attractive, but she was hardly troll like. Stella pushed Lucy down into the ditch before the Gate Keeper could see that she wasn't alone, then she ambled up to the large woman.

"Ma'am, I'm lost in these woods. I need to get into town to fetch medicine for my younger brother. Can you help me find my way?" Stella pleaded.
"If you're here to steel from the witch, all you have to do is drink this small bottle of extra virgin olive oil. Then you'll need to vault over the fence. Once you're drank the EVOO the witch can't touch you, but you'll want to be quick."
"B-b-but how did you know?"
"I just know," the Gate Keeper said without emotion.
"Why would you help us? Is this a trap?" Stella asked - knowing that it likely was a trap.
"I detest that old witch. I stand on this road day and night and she never thinks to ask me inside."

Stella asked the Gate Keeper to be patient while she fetched a vault. She ran to the ditch where Lucy was still cowering. "Come on Lucy. We don't have to sneak in, but one of us will have to vault inside. Let's go. "
Lucy climbed from the ditch and announced "I will vault over the wall. If the witch can not touch me, I'm at no risk."
"It might be very scary."

The girls returned to the gate with a small spring vault. Lucy drank the EVOO, jumped on the vault, and quickly flipped over the gate. Only moments later she came running from the house with the vials in hand. The witch was only inches behind her - shrieking and clawing at the girl, but inflicting no harm. Lucy attempted to climb over the gate to return to true safety, but she could not lift herself to such a great height. Instead she squeezed her tiny body through the iron bars of the gate. Stella quickly thanked the Gate Keeper and the two girls ran down the path.

...

"Unfortunately, we must return to the witch's house. But we know that by drinking EVOO, the witch can't harm us. It will be frightening, but we must do it for our family, " Stella explained to Lucy and Lex.

The trio returned to the witch's gate and Lucy bravely offered to return into the house. Lex insisted that as the oldest brother, he must accompany Lucy. Oddly, the Gate Keeper was not perched in her usual place. Stella had thought to bring some EVOO for all of them. "Stella, you must stay behind in case there is trouble. Whatever you do, do not come over that gate," instructed Lex. He was only 15, but believed that he was an adult.

Lex and Lucy vaulted over the gate and ran to the witch's house. The witch was waiting for them, she swooped in upon Lucy and began to rip out her hair. "But the EVOO! She can't be harmed! This is wrong!" Stella panicked. The witch screamed "That only works one time you fools. For now the boy is safe, but this little girl is lost." Stella began to drink some EVOO so she could vault over the gate and save her small sister, but Lex called out to her. "Don't come over the gate. It is a trap. The Gate Keeper is a witch. And they have captured my soul. I am their prisoner now, but I will not be harmed." Stella was devastated.

...

Mr. Howel sat at the round, wooden table in the tavern. A young man was at the piano, playing intricate and sad songs. The barmaid waltzed up to Howel, "Why the long face?"
"That's my son at the piano. He doesn't know that I'm here. He was trapped by witched and now he can't see his family. I come every day just to see him."
The barmaid was too puzzled to respond so she simply walked away.

Shortly after, two men from the asylum came to the tavern and took Howel away without a fight.

Pool Party

Stella ran through the gardens in the pouring rain. She didn't want to stay at the resort - it wasn't in her plan. And now she was soaked to the bone, but if she ran she might be able to make it in time for the pool pictures.

Stella ran to the edge of the balcony and looked down at the dark pool. Only a small section was illuminated and the entire wedding party was floating on their backs. The photographer weaseled around the pool before shouting "Okay, that's it folks. Great shoot." The wet but happy group trudged out of the pool and Stella was so mesmerized she didn't see the floor sliding across the other end of the pool.

But as the next processional started Stella redirected her focus. She noticed some friends in the group - Ashpy, Torkman, and Nail. Ashpy was near the front of the two lines and when she reached the sand on the far right side of the pool, she laid down in a sensual pose. People stretched across the expansive pool area. The Denver Nuggets cheerleaders appeared in a long horizontal line - spreading their legs in the most unattractive fashion.

"What a horrible yet appealing plan for a wedding," Stella thought.

A grand celebration

Stella rubbed her cheek against the tuft of fur on the back of the donkey's head. She worried about ruining her wedding dress by riding on an ass, but she pressed her body against the full length of the little steed regardless. She smiled knowing that all the residents of the big castles were watching her from their enormous windows.

The duo happened upon a beautiful table in the middle of the road. It was adorned with lace and flowers. In the center of the table was a globby purple pile and next to it a card with Stella's name.
"This must be my wedding cake," she thought. She turned to look for a person to thank, but found no one. Upon returning her focus to the table, Stella saw that the donkey had eaten her cake.

Stella shook her head in frustration.

The Vortex

Stella was having difficulty finding her next class. There were too many people wandering the hallway and she couldn’t remember which locker was hers – let alone the combination. Her favorite teacher Kweebs was standing in her normal position by her classroom door. Stella approached and asked “Kweebs, do you know where my locker is. I’m super disoriented.” Kweebs replied “You have to go get a super secret senior locker. They’re located in the dark section of the school.” She pointed to a row of double doors and Stella could see that the section of the school was, in fact, quite dark. She pushed through the doors and found 9 large tables in the middle of the room. All of her things were splayed across the table like a picked over table at a garage sale. Stella ran to her things and picked up her favorite shirt from middle school – she was pissed. Who would do this? It was messed up. It was wrong. And it was just plain weird. Another student came into the super secret senior locker area and glanced nervously at Stella as he tried to open his locker.

“Did you do this? Who did this? What is going on?” Stella shouted.

The boy only trembled and stared at Stella with large eyes.

“Answer me, you dweeb.”

“The vortex”

Stella was dumbfounded. “The what? Don’t lie because I’ll find out.”

“The vortex”

Stella turned around to the exit doors and could see a sliver of light coming from underneath them. As she pushed the door open, she was sucked into the brightness.

Bowling

Emilio had risen from bed was preparing to go to work.

“Stella, we need to go bowling,” he whispered.

“Okay, we’ll go sometime,” Stella grumbled as she tossed in the sheets. “Now leave me alone – I’m trying to get some sleep.”

“Stella, we have to go bowling now. Before work.”

“Emilio, that’s lame and it’s not happening. Now stop.”

Defeated, Emilio went to the bathroom to get ready for work.

The Ghostess

The 19th century architecture of Stella's new house was beautiful. The spiraling features against the dark wood was truly a sign of craftsmanship. It was all so exciting and new - being in this new house. Emilio had already left for work and Stella cherished her few minutes alone in the new space. She walked down the beautiful wooden stair case to see Emilio's mother, Bonnie, having a cup of tea in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Bonnie. What do you think of the new place?" Stella yawned as climbed onto a barstool.

"It's a beautiful home. You two should be really proud.... I did notice that there were some issues with the front door. You might want to get that taken care of before you go to bed tonight. It's better to be safe than sorry."

Stella nodded and looked around. They did have a few projects to take care of, but nothing they couldn't handle - replacing the front door and doing a little paint touch up.

Stella walked out onto the front porch with Bonnie and inspected the defective threshold. It would need to be replaced before tonight. It was extremely difficult to close and lock, and the pre-door wasn't even attached to the house - merely propped on the porch for decoration. As Bonnie walked to her car she turned and said "Emilio forgot to take his lunch to work. Maybe you should swing by his office." "Okay, I will. Thanks for coming over, Bonnie. You can come back at any time," Stella replied. The two exchanged pleasantries and soon Stella was left sipping tea in the front yard and watching Bonnie drive away.

As she walked back up the porch, Stella got a chill. There was a certain spooky element to the house. She inspected her porch as she thought about the unique history of the house. High class southern folks with a preference toward more elaborate tastes, the murder of their daughter. Stella wasn't entirely clear of the history, but she knew that at one time a lady named Jill and her daughter Allyssa had died in the home. "Spooky!" she thought to herself.

Stella walked back into the parlor room and standing there was a pudgy, white woman with short dark hair. It was parted directly down the middle and it made the woman look extremely dowdy. "Can I help you?" Stella asked. The woman threw her head back and laughed. Her focus was incredible. "Don't you know who I am, Stella? Are you too stupid to figure that out?" the woman chuckled.

"I-I-I don't know who you are. I don't know why you're in my house. And I'm kindly asking you to leave now," said Stella.

"I'm Jill, you idiot. And I won't leave this house. You will."

Stella was inspecting the woman's face -the contorted half snarl - half smile was extremely upsetting. She quickly realized that she was in danger and this Jill character would enjoy nothing more than inflicting harm on Stella and Emilio.

"Where's Allyssa?"

"Funny you should ask, Stella. She's behind you. Gnawing away at that front door of yours. You'll never get it repaired and anyone can just....enter your home." Jill chortled.

"That means they can enter your home too, Jill. What do you think about that?" Stella's meager attempt to outsmart the spirit was long lost on the ghoul. She frantically looked around for things within arms reach before realizing that she was holding a tea-cup full of hot liquid. Stella launched the tea-cup at Jill's head and shouted, "Get out of my house!"

Jill only craned her face toward the floor and lifted her eyes. Evil incarnate. "It won't be that easy. This is my house. And I won't be leaving," Jill growled.

Stella felt the child approaching her from behind but waited until the girl was directly behind her before she spun around to apprehend the girl. With Jill's daughter in captivity, Stella could make certain demands. Her body was shaking with fear, but she refused to released the child.

"Your effort is useless, Stella. We aren't threatened by you in any way."

"Then why are you taunting me? Why bother? Can't you just live peacefully in the basement?"

"This is our house. And you will be leaving."

"Clearly, Jill, you're threatened by us. You want us to leave because you're scared. Scared of what we could do to you. And you should be. This isn't the first time I've dabbled with the paranormal."

And it wasn't.

Ghosty

Stella didn't want to be on the bus. She wasn't ready to leave town. So she called to the driver to stop and let her off. The driver growled something about now being able to stop the bus there, but she would find a parking lot to stop in later.

They were already three blocks away from Stella's house, and she wasn't sure how she was going to get home. But as fate would have it, the bus stopped at the home of PankRatz, her former boss. Stella was pretty certain that PankRatz had been turned into a ghost and Stella had boxes stored in the houses. As she stood on the sidewalk contemplating whether she should go inside, she saw Regier walking up the sidewalk toward her. They ran to one another and hugged. Regier had worked with PankRatz and probably had things stored in her old home. Stella suggested that they go inside and collect their stuff, but she didn't have any bags. Regier agreed and the two approached the spooky old building.

Stella instantly saw the boxes that they had stored there, but her fear of the PankRatz ghost was too high. She could hardly move once she was in the house. Regier was fearless. He went to the boxes and began dumping them on the floor. As he selected items he wanted to take, Stella gained enough courage to sit next to him on the floor. Regier handed her a small plastic bag and only looked at her to indicate that she should get to work. She began putting items in the small Famous Dave's bag.

The ghost of PankRatz zoomed down the stairs and Stella realized they had failed to identify the nearest exit. Regier pointed at a door and told Stella to go, but she wouldn't leave the house without him. So she grabbed his arm and dragged him through the door. The ghost of PankRatz was sitting in the doorway, looking at them. Stella shouted, "Get out of here. Nobody likes you. And this is our stuff. HAG."

It was such a rush until Stella realized that they were 600 yards above the rest of the down. They would have to walk down stairs for an eternity. Regier grabbed her for one last hug and he leaped over the side railing of the stone staircase. Stella saw him grabbing trees and bushes and sliding down the dirt to the street below. He was so suave. Stella would have to take the stairs. She couldn't do all the sliding with the Famous Dave's bag. So she began her descent. Stella looked longingly at the hardware store below and wished she was there instead. As she turned back to look at the stairs a very large man was standing there. Obviously startled, Stella whacked him with the bag and jumped back as much as she could without falling into the man.

"I'm s-s-s-sorry. I was j-j-just walking down from this h-house. A b-b-bus dropped me off up there. I just need to get home. Sorry to be in your way," Stella stammered. Then she ran. She ran as fast as she could. When she reached the bottom of the stairs she quietly swore under her breath and drudged homeward.

You're a Jerk

Stella was getting tired as she drove the long dark road. The occasional street lamp at least added some interest to the drive. Her heart was heavy, Luanne had been abducted and severely abused. And even though Stella didn't really know Luanne, the thought of such an action really weighed on her.

As she arrived at the house she could see it was bubbling with the life of the 8 girls who lived there. Mersa was standing on the porch and walked over to Stella's car to greet her. "Took you long enough to get here," she said. "Oh shut up. I'm here." Stella snapped.

The pair went into the house and Stella was very impressed with the house. She walked to the back bedroom and was floored at it's beauty. The floor was sunken about 3 feet lower than the rest of the house, and on the far end of the room were 6 glass doors that led out to a small deck. Beyond the deck was blackness, but Stella suspected that it was water.

Sitting in the room was Luanne, looking vacant but composed. Stella didn't want to talk to her, but as a formerly abducted and tortured person - she knew it was her responsibility.

"How are you doing, Luanne?" Stella asked quietly.

Luanne burst into tears and began babbling. Stella quickly got tired of listening and really just wanted to join the rest of the group in the living room. The only thing that would make it stop was a long and powerful hug. Stella raised her arms and tilted her head - Luanne fell into place. As Stella hugged and rocked Luanne she said "You're okay now. Everything is okay now. If you ever need to talk you can talk to me." Luanne stopped crying with a strange abruptness and Stella released her from the hug and slowly left the room.

As she walked into living, the other girls were looking at her expectantly. Stella raised her arms above her head and mouthed, "GOAL!"

The BoringJones Gang

Stella was excited to be working at the new office directly behind her house. The abandon school had some neat architechture that Stella lost herself in. Memmories of her elementary days came flooding back to her each morning at her desk. One joy of being so close to home was that she could go home during her breaks and be on her own turf.

As Stella stepped outside the building, she saw a gold 1993 Honda Accord sitting in the driveway outside the backyard fence. She wondered who was at the house- it wouldn't be her mother. She quietly entered through the backdoor and spotted the perpetrators: BoringJones and all her boring friends. They had some lime-green substance that they were smoking and BoringJones had positioned herself at the head of Stella's kitchen table. Her feet were placed upon the table and her ugly furry boots were getting dirty water all over Stella's table. That explained a lot.

"BoringJones I don't know what you're doing here. You need to leave right now before I call the cops," Stella raged.

BoringJones only looked up took a puff of the green liquid. After several minutes of pretending to be cool, she said "You won't really call the cops."

But Stella already had. The moment she saw the car in the drive she called for back up. She had told the officers just to enter the house unannounced. As they filed in behind Stella in the kitchen, BoringJones lost what little color she had in her face.

"What is that, that you're smoking in my house?" Stella asked.

"It's nothing. Just green water. Nothing like the drugs that YOU have stashed all around this joint. Why do you think we come to your place while you're gone," BoringJones droned.

"You are so stupid. I don't have drugs in the house because I'm not nasty like you. I have a real personality and real friends and I don't keep drugs in my house."

The officers had finished their round up of BoringJones' gang and placed them in their cruisers. One officer walked up with his cap in hand and looked sorrowfully at Stella. "I'm afraid what they are smoking is a very powerful drug. It causes extreme mold growth in any location it's used. Stella, I'm sorry."

Stella's raged ticked into high gear and she focused in on BoringJones with incredible intensity.

"You would dare bring this trash into my house? Put my family and me at risk with your nonsense? Destroy my property and accuse me of keeping drugs in the house?...." Stella was trembling and couldn't get the next words out.

The Chief Officer put his hand on Stella's shoulder. "Stella, there are options. With all of this being true, you have the right to behead BoringJones right now. You can also slowly exact your revenge, but after 6 months you can not inflict death of any person in the group."

Stella thanked the officers and showed them to the door. BoringJones was still sitting in her kitchen, though far less smug. Stella locked all the doors and went back to BoringJones.

"Well...you blew it this time, BJ. You blew it big time."

She was at peace

Psychoanalysts

The elementary school cafeteria was bustling with activity. Stella could feel herself getting annoyed, but she tried to compose herself. Soon she would be meeting with a team of psychoanalysts and she didn't want to appear crazy. She approached the round table and sat in one of the blue plastic chairs.

"Stella, it is our recommendation that you under go extreme psychotherapy. You are severely depressed and hyper violent."

Stella was shocked. Outraged. She could feel the fury taking over.

"This is the biggest scam in the history of the world. I'm not depressed. I'm not violent and I CAN control my temper. You guys are idiots. I am out of here."

Still snarling, Stella made her way to the big yellow school bus. As she loaded the bus she found that the inside had tall-backed leather seats. At least the seats were nice. She picked a seat near the front and slumped down. Those idiots didn't know anything about her. Stella closed her eyes in an attempt to get some rest before arriving at camp. The psychoanalysts all loaded the bus and took their seats near the middle. Stella knew that they were sitting there so they could observe her, but she wasn't going to give them a show. She would only sit silently in her seat and roll her eyes with gusto.

At the camp, Stella was told that she would be staying in a cabin with her sister. They would be co-counselors. It struck her as a little funny because she had never had to be co-counselor before. She took her things to the cabin and realized that the only open bunk was the one directly in front of the door. Her annoyance was paramount.

She walked over to the dining hall and began to walk up the step when a girl came rushing up next to her. Startled and feeling mean, Stella used the butt of her hand to punch the girl to the ground. The psychoanalysts were standing behind her and as Stella looked up, she saw all 4 of them shaking their heads with grave disapproval.

The young girl went running back to the cabin and Stella trailed slowly behind. "I wish those stupid psychoanalysts would stop following me. This is none of their business and I don't have an anger problem. GAH!" she thought. Her boss and mentor, T-bone, walked up next to her.

"Hey kid. What's going on? Punching a girl doesn't seem much like you?"
"It's not, T-bone, but these stupid psychoanalysts won't stop following me. I can't get any peace and they are making me more crazy. Not less crazy."
"Why don't you go apologize to the girl and then you can come hide with me. I'll protect you."
"Thanks T. I'll be back"

Stella walked to the screen window of the cabin where she saw the girl crying.

"I'm really sorry I hit you. I shouldn't have done that, but I did. I feel horrible and I hope you can forgive me," Stella said. And she walked away before the girl could say anything. T-bone was shaking his head and smiling as Stella turned and came to him. T-bone hugged Stella and with her arm around his waist, they walked to his room.

"I knew I didn't have any problems. Thanks for keeping those idiots away from, T" Stella said as she sat down on the folding chair in T-bone's room.

Stella could see the psychoanalysts from the window of the room. They were holding up signs that said "You are a killer" and "You will suffer the consequences". Stella only shrugged and watched T-bone prepare to shave his stubbly face.

Ghostbuster

"Just mix together some cornbread mix and kool-aid. It makes the perfect hair dye," crooned the old woman.


...

Stella was feeling a little nervous as she walked into her old High School. Luckily, everything she needed was set up on the walkway above the cafeteria. She sat down at the little desk and navigated to the NHS students page.

After several minutes frustrated clicking, TJ came up to Stella to see what was wrong.
"You know, that thing won't work if you click so hard. What's the big problem."
"I'm just trying to see what classes I can take and what I'm already registered for. Can't I do that online?" Stella huffed.
"This is a high school. We don't do that. And what are you doing in High School anyway?"
"I had to come back to take a basic math class. I skipped over it when I was a student here and now I have to come back and take it. Can you believe that they're making a math major take a basic High School math class? Ridiculous."

Stella was silently chuckling to herself as TJ walked away. Left to her own devices, Stella smacked the computer monitor and a list of classes showed up. As she scrolled through the list, Mr. Nickel's name appeared several times. "I thought he was fired..." Stella thought. But as she looked up, she saw him standing near her desk.

"Mr. Nickel, I thought you were ghostbusting now. What happened to those big plans?"
"I was going to do that, but then the school said they wouldn't fire me if I stopped dancing. So I just stopped and I don't need to be a ghostbuster."
"How could you let me down like this? I was going to make t-shirts," Stella clipped.

Consternation

Stella and Mckenzie were absolutely thrilled about the Captain's wedding. They were almost finished setting up. Everything was done except the chairs. The Captain wanted to set up the chairs by herself.

"Oh. My." Mckenzie whispered. Stella hadn't seen the Captain yet, but she turned expecting to see a vision of beauty.

Instead she saw the Captain in a wheel chair. Struggling to drag stacks of white, plastic chairs into the ballroom.

"Let us help you, sweetie," Mckenzie called to their friend.

"No thanks! I got it. You guys look great. This will be a good wedding!" The Captain responded.

Stella and Mckenzie looked at one another in silent horror.

Picking Up Ladies

Emilio was curled on his side while he was sleeping. It was okay, but Stella wanted him to turn on his other side.

"Emilio, why do you always sleep like that?"

"Because, Stella, that's how you get all the ladies."

Stella merely turned her body toward him, became the big spoon, and went to sleep.

Reunions

Stella woke up with a startle. She had been sleeping on the puffy green couch in the basement of the house. She was late to something, but she couldn't remember what. She looked around at the dingy cave and laid eyes on Al Bundy. He was heckling her while she slept.

"What time is it?" she asked him.

"Past time for you to get up! That couch is a kill, eh?" he shouted.

"You don't need to shout. I'm right here. I guess I'm going upstairs to get ready."

Stella grabbed the blankets and wrapped them around her shoulders. She couldn't remember what she had to do that evening that she might have been late for. But as she saw Hector's face she knew. The Orchestra Reunion Concert with Sluttrell! She couldn't miss that. Hector was loitering at the top of stairs and he had a large smirk on his face.

"Why are you still high?" he scoffed.

"I'm not, dumbass. I just woke up. Where is Regier? I told him I'd find him when I woke up."

"Well he's upstairs, but you'll only get high if you go up there."

"Hector, you don't know what you're talking about. Just shove it okay."

Stella's annoyance almost outweighed her excited about seeing Regier, but she quickly caught herself and happily bounded up the stairs. In the center of the room was a large group of them: Regier, Dallas, and other familiar faces. Regier ran to the top of the stairs to meet Stella and they hugged for several minutes. Too happy to do anything other than squeeze, squeal, and sway. After a long period, the words finally came.

"Stella! I'm so glad you're here. I've missed you so much."

"Me too, Regier. I've got to get changed for this concert tonight. Can you help me out?"

"Of course! What do you need?"

"Well. I need to find my clothes and a cello...." Stella said a little hesitantly.

"Yeah. No problem. Your clothes are hanging in the bathroom and I can get you a cello. Do you want to smoke a little?"

Stella could never resist Regier's offers. So the pair went into the bathroom and furiously sucked away at the side of the apple. "Thanks, Regier. You always know how to relax me. Now go find me a cello while I get dressed!"

He rushed off to find her an instrument. Stella looked at the clothes that were hanging in the bathroom. A silk, salmon colored tank top. With glitter. And long flowing black pants? She was really skeptical, but she put the clothes on anyway and ran out the bathroom, down the stairs and into the street....

As she reached the high school her heart was beating a thousand beats per minute. She counted each beat and thought she would die. The flood lights, the red carpet, the gowns, tuxes, and glamour were all too much. "Everybody is really going all out for this thing," Stella thought, "I wonder if anybody knows I'll be here."

She walked to the orchestra door and slowly pushed it open. It was a room full of men in tuxes, clutching their instruments as they chattered away. Sluttrell walked in the door, clapped his hands once and said "It's time to go." Stella pushed her way through the crowd toward him and his face lit up when he saw her. Stella had never been so happy. Sluttrell grabbed a cello and bow for her and began to walk out towards stage. She walked at his side and the papparazzi went wild. Stella smiled for all she was worth.

They were playing a simple song in 4/4 time. It was a jazzy tune and just ahead in the music were some quarternotes that started on the And of 1. The orchestra panic. Sluttrell tried to show them what to do, but he was conducting every one else. Orchestra members began to rise from their chairs and run into the audience. The MC got on the mic and tried to reassure the audience that the piece would go on as planned. Stella knew she couldn't mess this up. She confidently began clapping the notes. She could count music and she had never been so proud. It was then that she looked off the end of the stage to see a second orchestra of older professionals. In the second cello chair was her best friend, Alice. Alice smiled and gave Stella a thumbs up. Stella had never been more proud.

2D

The dread of asking people for money loomed over Stella as she trudged toward the pink house. She thought to herself, "This house looks really familiar. I think I might live here." Instead of ringing the doorbell, she decided just to walk in and see what happened. Standing near the door was a tall, slender figure.

Marge Simpson walked a little closer. "Lisa, you're home. I've been waiting for you!"

Stella looked around to be sure that nobody had entered the house with her. After looking over each shoulder, she looked down at her self. Spiky red dress, big white pearls. She lifted her hand to the top of her head. Points.

"Hi, mom. I'm selling crayons to do some fundraising for a big cause. Will you buy some?"

"Sure, Lisa. Tell me about your crayons."

"Well. I'm trying to only sell the red ones because that gets the biggest profit."

"What about this mustard yellow one."

"Mom, the red ones cost you less and make more money for non-profit organizations. Don't get the yellow one."

"Lisa, I don't think that's a very good business model. I'll take the yellow crayon."

Stella's frustration overwhelmed her as she collected some money from Marge. She let out a big sigh, slumped forward and slowly walked up the stairs.

Decisions

Stella looked down at her body. Frills, bows, and ribbons. And she didn't know why she was wearing a white powdered wig but after a quick trip to the mirror she realized she was Thomas Jefferson. Stella ran out the doors of Monticello and over to Mt. Vernon to visit her best friend, George Washington.

Washington was distraught. Grabbing at his wig, wringing his hands, and pacing about the room.

"George, what's wrong?" Stella asked.

"Something is not right. My wife has died and now my kids are in danger."

"What kind of danger? Maybe I can help you out of this."

"I don't know. I don't know! But this are going to be bad. Will you stay here tonight? In the State Room?"

"Of course, George. I'll stay."

Stella began to settle into the state room. A large storm had rolled in and she began to wondering if George Washington was frightened of storms. She pulled the heavy covers up over her chest and adjusted her night cap for the last time before closing her eyes and taking one deep breath. Washington burst into the room and lightning illuminated him from the windows behind.

"You have to come quick. Go out to the stable and prepare the horses. We ride tonight."

"George, what are you talking about? Everything is fine," Stella cooed.

"You fool. The British are coming and we don't have any time for you doubting, Thomas," Washington snipped.

"Okay, George, okay. I'll go out to the stable and prepare everything. You should get dressed. At least try to escape with dignity."

Stella quickly dressed, but decided not to wear the wig. It would be a mess in the rain. She went out to the stable and found a lantern lit. The horses were already tied up at the door, waiting to be mounted.

Washington came running out of his home and un-hitched his horse. "Come on! We have to go FAST, " he shouted as he began to disappear into the night.

Stella wondered why Washington didn't wake his children.

Diana

Stella sleepily stepped out of her car at the airport. "I'm glad I always carry my passport," she thought. As she grabbed her bags from the backseat she saw Clara. Clara looked tired as well, but they had arrived in time for the van shuttle over to the plane. The rest of the group was starting to load vans.

"I can't believe I'm going on this trip," Stella said.
"Yeah. Let's get in the front van. Nobody ever sits in the front van and then we can be alone, " Clara suggest.

So they walked to the large white Astro van that headed the caravan. They climbed in with all their things and settled into the middle seat. Diana Ross was sitting in the front seat of the van with the driver. Stella and Clara calmly greeted the star and thanked her for joining them on their trip.

As the van pulled up to the plane, Bruno was standing outside with his arms crossed.


"How dare you?!" he barked.
"What's the problem?" asked Clara.
"You two have the nerve to drive here together AND to ride in the van with Diana?"
"But we didn't come together. Both of our cars are in the parking garage. Go check if you don't believe us," Stella blurted "And we didn't know we were in the Diana van. Everybody else was already loading the other vans. We just picked that van because nobody was in it."
"Nobody in this group wanted you here in the first place and then you go a take away their chance to ride to the airplane with Diana Ross. You'll have to be punished, " Bruno told the girls.

He turned the group who was now seated in the glamorous dining hall that sat near the runway.
"These two drove to the airport together and they rode in the van with Diana Ross. If you wanted to ride in the van with Diana, please raise your hand."

All of the hands went up. Stella was getting nervous. This group was vicious and she didn't want to make them angry.

Bruno began again..."If you think these two should be punished for their actions against the group, please raise your hand."

All of the hands went up. Stella turned to Clara and whispered, " we have to do something. They'll tear us to shreds if we don't. They have to know the truth." Clara shook her head and muttered "it's too late for all of that."

It was then that Stella realized that Diana Ross would cause her death.

Team Dynamics

The Chief was going to leave again. The agony that Stella felt the first time The Chief left came rushing back in a wave of tears.

"Chief, you just got back! How could you leave us again?"
"Stella, I have to go" was the only explanation The Chief would give.
"But Chief, I love you" she sobbed.

The Chief and The Captain were both shocked. They stood in silence and watched Stella weeping.
Finally, The Captain said "You can't be in love with The Chief. He's leaving. And he isn't in love with you."

Stella was furious. "I'm not in love with The Chief. I love him like my brother," she screamed.
"That's not the impression I get from all the crying," said The Captain.
"Well it's the truth. "

The Chief didn't know what to think.

Feral

Stella sat at the table. The meadow around her was teeming with life. Children were running in every which way.

Montano walked out of the darkness around the clearing and took a seat next to Stella. He rested his elbow on his knee and put his face in his hand. After a short time of silently shaking his head Montano muttered

"Ugh, these kids."

Endings

Part 1:
Stella looked down over the ledge upon the knight. His screams made her cringe and she wished he would move his arms away from his face. Flames climbed around his body and the knight flung his arms open. He was just a child and in only an instant - he was gone.


Part 2:
The lady was translucent and Stella could see the moon through her ribs. A rope was loosely draped around the lady's chest, but her arms remained free. Stella was hypnotized. The rope tightened against the lady's body and she zoomed up into the sky.


Part 3:
The goldfish were very happy in their bag. Stella was happy too. One bag dropped to the floor and the two fish in the bag were surrounded in ice.

"Emilio! Quick! Grab the fish! Grab the fish!"
"Why can't you just do it?" Emilio asked.
"I can't touch them. You have do it. HURRY."

Emilio pinched a fish between two fingers. He had waited too long.

Three

Stella peeked her head around the bedroom door. There in the soft white sheets were three very fat bodies. Two brown. One white.

She backed quietly out of the room and closed the door.

The Walk Through Life

Part 1.

There was a flash of red swirling toward the shower drain.

"What is that?" Emilio wondered.

Stella reached to pick it up. It was a toenail. Her toenail. She reached to the ends of her feet and realized that all her toenails were gone. She let her hand rest on the bottom of the tub and lifted it to reveal a handful of toenails - piled rather high.

"For some reason I can't seem to keep these things on. Well. We'll just have to give them to Pat. Pat will know what to do with them."

Part 2.

It was very grey, cloudy, and cold.

"Is this the prairie?" he asked.

"Yes," she said.

Family

Stella insisted on going through every artifact. A handkerchief, a slipper, a stack of pictures. Emilio grew impatient...

"Let's go down in her basement. It's neat down there. There are stacks of papers and concrete blocks. You don't need to sort though this junk. You have what you need"

"I have never been in that basement in my life. If I was supposed to go down there, I would have by now. We're staying here to look through these pictures. We aren't supposed to go down there."

...

Cloths were draped in the stairwell. They grabbed at the skin like billowing ghosts. It was uncomfortable, stale and Stella wanted to go back upstairs. But they pushed on. As they reached the bottom step Stella's greatest fears were realized. It was a battle ground. Paralyzed bodies were scattered across the mustard yellow carpet. Stella walked to the back of the room in horror. How could her grandmother keep something like this from her? She turned to meet Emilio's eyes and saw him transfixed on a body. It was breathing. They were all breathing. Stella recognized Michael when his eyes opened slightly. Something was wrong.

"Have you ever seen so many needles?" Emilio wondered.
"No. What do you think is going on?"
"They're probably using."
"But they're only children. Children don't use. And not Michael. He's too smart."

They stirred. Stella grabbed Emilio's arm and started walking to the stairs. "But freedom is the other way," said Emilio. Regardless, Stella ran up the stairs. She knew they had to get out before those kids saw them. Just as Emilio's foot landed on the ground floor, Stella turned to slam the door. But there was a child there; feral, dangerous. It vomited on Stella's foot as she tried to kick it back down the stairs.

"Oh god. What if I have AIDS? They're just kids. They don't know about the transfer of disease. I could have AIDS."
Emilio bit his lip and grabbed Stella's hand. "There's no time to worry about that now. We'll have you tested when we can take your shoe off. But for now we need to get out of here. I don't know what they're using, but they're mad."

They ran out into the parking lot. It was cloudy and yellow. Michael stood in front of their car with his arms crossed. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"Michael, please. I know we aren't the closest, but you're my family and I love you. Please don't hurt us," Stella cried.

"What were you doing in her basement?" Michael demanded.

"N-n-nothing. We were just curious"

"You weren't supposed to go in the basement."

"Michael, what were you doing with those kids? What was wrong with them? One of them attacked us. I might have AIDS."

"Don't worry about it. "

Michael unfolded his arms and walked toward Stella. She flinched a little with each step he took. He wrapped his arms around her and she returned the gesture. Stella stretched her neck up and nuzzled her head into Michael's neck.

Everything was fine.